Chapter Sixty-Eight: Battle Assessment A

The third to charge forward was Chen Hao. Wielding his Yanling Blade, he struck left and right, and few players could withstand a single blow from him. The two sides were locked in melee combat. Despite the numerical advantage of the players under Three-Life Stone, the close-quarters battle was dominated by the three martial experts—Lin Hei’er, Cui Yunniang, and Chen Hao—resulting in the Three-Life Stone’s men being continuously cut down.

Players ambushed on the left side of the wheat field also launched their assault. Those with rifles affixed bayonets and advanced, while the pistol-wielders charged ahead. Most conspicuous among them was Situ Feng, who alternated between two standard Mauser pistols, firing rapidly. Though his accuracy left much to be desired, he managed to hold off several opponents single-handedly.

Three-Life Stone’s forces were caught in a pincer attack. Lin Hei’er and Cui Yunniang alone had slain nearly twenty, and Chen Hao had killed eight more. Seeing Chen Hao’s wild brandishing of the blade, Three-Life Stone’s eyes flashed with cold malice. Rarely prone to anger, he now felt a surge of rage rising in his chest, desperate for release.

As his men fell one after another, Three-Life Stone realized victory was lost. Without hesitation, he leapt onto the carriage. The driver wheeled the horses around and sped toward Penglai. Situ Feng and the pale-faced Demon fired three pistols in quick succession, bullets clanging loudly against the carriage.

Chen Hao’s face showed helplessness; he hadn’t expected Three-Life Stone to be so vigilant. The carriage was reinforced with steel plates. With players’ shooting skills still lacking, hitting the wheels was impossible; stopping the carriage was now out of the question.

If Mr. Liu survived this battle, anyone who had faced him would certainly be wanted. Chen Hao could only hope Liu Zixuan’s group might intercept the carriage. Yet, given Three-Life Stone’s abilities, the chances were slim. The makeshift fortifications barely held off the remaining constables, and if the carriage sped through while the fortifications were being breached, pursuing it would be hopeless.

Just as the carriage was about to pass the wheat field, a petite figure suddenly leapt out from the right, landing gracefully atop the shaft. With a swift kick, she knocked the driver down, then aimed her exquisite Browning pistol at the carriage and quickly pulled the trigger.

As the girl took aim, the carriage curtain was flung aside, and Three-Life Stone lunged out with a fierce expression. Seeing the girl, he knew his fate was sealed and made a split-second decision: rather than die alongside Mr. Liu, he would risk everything to save him. If he sacrificed himself to preserve Mr. Liu’s life, he'd be owed a great debt—certainly Mr. Liu would reward him richly.

Night Rain, atop the shaft, hadn’t expected Three-Life Stone to charge toward the gun. Momentarily stunned, she fired, but Three-Life Stone’s momentum dragged her down from the carriage as well.

The carriage sped off, and Night Rain climbed up from the ground in fury, firing two more shots at the wounded Three-Life Stone. After finishing him off, she took aim at the horses and emptied the remaining four rounds.

Now the carriage was more than twenty meters away, and with players’ poor marksmanship, hitting the galloping horses was a matter of luck. Night Rain’s luck was clearly lacking—none of her four shots hit, and she could only watch as the carriage disappeared into the distance.

Without Three-Life Stone’s command, his players were utterly routed, annihilated by Chen Hao’s group. Lin Hei’er opened the prison cart and released Zhang Yuanyuan, taking her hand and saying gently, “Junior Sister, you’ve suffered.”

Pale-faced, Zhang Yuanyuan shook her head, “Senior Sister, I brought this on myself. That corrupt official is no good—I truly regret not listening to you before.”

Seeing Zhang Yuanyuan’s fingers, raw and bloody from torture, Lin Hei’er spoke tenderly, “Don’t worry, Sister. I will make sure to slay that dog Liu Ziyuan for you.”

Such battles involving NPCs rarely yielded equipment or money; since players were completing quests for NPCs, loot would default to the NPCs after the fight. With the battle not yet over, the system had not made its assessment, so players had received nothing so far.

While Lin Hei’er was opening the prison cart, Chen Hao led his players toward the hill to support the interception of Liu Ziyuan and his men.

Fourteen constables remained. Having escaped the wheat field and entered the hills, they barely had time to catch their breath when gunfire erupted ahead—a constable in the lead collapsed instantly.

With enemies ahead and pursuers behind, the constables had no escape. Eyes bloodshot, they waved their long knives and charged forward. Barely had they run a few steps when the foremost constable stepped on a land mine; an explosion tore him apart, blowing off both legs.

The remaining constables were trapped, unable to advance or retreat. Liu Zixuan showed no mercy, calmly directing players to aim and fire. Players’ marksmanship was abysmal; at a distance of twenty meters, over thirty shots were fired, killing only four constables. As the number of enemies dwindled, players’ poor accuracy made it even harder to hit. Eight constables, ignoring their pain, crawled into the brambles to hide.

Liu Zixuan was about to lead her players to encircle the surviving constables when she spotted a carriage speeding toward them. An idea flashed in her mind, and she shouted, “Constables ahead, listen! We don’t wish to slaughter you all. If you can stop that carriage, we’ll spare your lives.”

The eight constables in the brambles desperately burrowed deeper, but the thicket was too dense to go far. Hearing Liu Zixuan’s offer, hope ignited in their hearts. One quickly pushed a large stone into the road, while the others piled assorted debris in the middle of the path.

Mr. Liu, a scholar with no experience driving, could only let the horses run wild. The carriage struck the stone and overturned. Mr. Liu, covered in dust, scrambled up and saw that the constables had stopped him. Furious, he shouted, “How dare you!”

Now, the constables cared only about survival. Exchanging glances, all nine each struck Mr. Liu with their blades. After killing him, they threw down their weapons and walked toward Liu Zixuan’s group, declaring, “We surrender—please spare our lives.”

Liu Zixuan ordered her men to guard the constables. Soon, Chen Hao arrived with reinforcements, and upon seeing nine constables captured alive, he looked surprised. His goal had been total annihilation, yet Liu Zixuan had taken eight prisoners. Once he understood what had happened, he found it difficult to kill them.

“Player Chen Hao, congratulations on successfully commanding the ‘Li Family Dam Ambush’ battle. In this engagement, the enemy lost 122 men, 9 captured, and your side lost 2. The system rates your command as A. Your tactical execution has increased by 2 points.”

Chen Hao hadn’t yet decided how to handle the eight captured constables when he received the system’s notification of the battle’s end, and the A rating delighted him. When commanding battles, the system rates them S, A, B, C, or D, with each grade granting different command experience. When enough experience is accumulated, attribute points increase. If the rating is above A, rewards may be doubled; if S, points are always doubled.

Chen Hao had not previously gained tactical execution attribute points. Earlier increases had been easy, so this time he’d receive a tactical execution point regardless of the evaluation. The A rating from the system granted him an extra attribute point—a welcome, unexpected reward.